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(05.28.2021 - 06.06.2021)
I made it. I don't know why this week felt so exhausting, but it did, but I made it. IT'S OVER! I'm free for another seven days.
I have ordered pizza and cheezy bread as a reward to myself for somehow continuing to exist, and since I haven't had it in me to update DW much this week, I will throw all the random wrestle feelings I've had since last time behind some cuts while I eat my food and just fucking CHILL for a bit.
AEW Dynamite #86
Okay, so the real story happening in Dynamite right now, at least until NBA playoffs are over and they go back on tour and stop spinning their wheels while shunted off to shitty late night time slots, is the return of PEOPLE. Full capacity crowds are back! And while it very much kinda weirds me out and feels dodgy, living somewhere that's still in the process of coming out of the absolute worst of the pandemic means I don't have any proper perspective on the actual state of things down south beyond the abstract, so I am totally content to just immerse myself in the illusion and pretend we are no longer in hell world for two hours at a time, leaving my aspersions at the door. It's pretty nice! I keep getting all emotional about it!
Darby Allin vs. Cezar Bononi: Like, seriously! This is just kind of a nothing match, but hearing that crowd go totally apeshit for Darby (probably AEW's biggest young homegrown star (A STATEMENT THAT MAY BE MORE DEBATABLE AFTER DOUBLE OR NOTHING, BUT I'LL GET TO THAT)), after over a year of empty arena shows and Austin Gunn having to get Dark talent hyped at ringside and socially distanced fans sitting approximately eight miles from the ring... fucking chills, man. I'm just so happy for the wrestlers?? This is their THING, man, this is what they DO, they feed off the energy around them and channel it into ridiculous fake combat and theatrics, and to be left to their own devices for so long, having to find other sources for that in-the-moment inspiration to really make it feel real and not just going through the motions, it must be so exhausting. This isn't what they signed up for, man! And now suddenly, it's over! The crowds are back! They're like a bunch of sad, understimulated zoo animals abruptly placed back into the habitats where they thrive and it's BEAUTIFUL to watch, and when I think about how much has happened since the last shows with crowds, it kinda blows my mind a little (and also makes me crazy sad in some cases, but more on that later). Darby's entire reign as TNT champion happened in the interim. Cezar wasn't even close to being around yet, let alone part of a delightful little stable of jobbers. And here they are now, kicking off what really feels like it can only be a fantastic new era for AEW. I'M REALLY DEEP IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT ALL OF THIS, MAN.
Then there was a long, terrible, momentum-killing weigh-in for Cody and Ogogo for some dumb reason, MOVING ON. The Christian/Hobbs backstage brawl that followed it was much cooler, loved the hit with the big... I want to say ashtray? just fucking exploding with sand everywhere.
Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela: The last time there were crowds? Hangman was tag team champion with Kenny Omega and they were one of the hottest things going. People were fucking CRAZY about him. After his brutal, heartbreaking 2020 and the slow rebuild in the aftermath, I was really unsure as to whether that would remain the case, or if his hype would have cooled somewhat, especially since he's mostly just been doing his own thing since Revolution. Cue the insane pop when he came out, NOPE HE'S STILL AS OVER AS EVER YOU LOVE TO SEE IT. Joey, on the other hand, is much less of a main roster mainstay than he used to be, which is unfortunate, but I'm still very invested in him and Sonny as a tag team, so hopefully they still get stuff to do with the Dark shows (presumably) changing formats when AEW gets back on the road next month.
Anyway, this match ended with Hangman getting split open bad and bleeding EVERYWHERE, and then he cut a promo on Brian Cage while covered in blood and it was amaaaaaaaaaaazing (and also seems to finally be leading us back around to that face turn for Cage that I've been expecting for ages now? MORE ON THAT LATER). No Team Taz at ringside for Double or Nothing!
Great promo from Mox and Eddie, no surprise there. There was a mudpit involved. They called the Young Bucks 'Rod and Todd Flanders'. They just... they just make me so happy.
Fun bit setting up the three-way at DoN, PAC promo turning into Kenny promo turning into Orange being Orange, just delightful. Better than the Jade interview that followed, where it turns out Mark Sterling is gonna be her manager after all. What a waste of time THAT whole plotline was.
Jade Cargill vs. KiLynn King: At least she's fucking fighting this week instead of just cutting endless promos, bleh. ANYWAY, the last time there were crowds? Neither of these ladies were around yet! KiLynn was doing her thing on the indies and Jade was... training, I guess? Was she even a wrestler yet? WILD. So great for them to get their first proper AEW crowd receptions right off the bat like this, especially since KiLynn still isn't actually signed, as far as I know; she might not have a ton of opportunities like this in the future, and she's been such a fantastic mainstay on the Dark shows that she really deserves it.
Jake and Lance's promos continue to be fun, I kinda wish this was a proper feud with Miro instead of just a one-off title match.
Miro (c) vs. Dante Martin for the AEW TNT Championship: Poor little wrestle baby, fed unceremoniously to the large Bulgarian man. :( Dude's gotta eat, though!
Hikaru Shida celebration! I'm sad she's not gonna get a successful title defense in front of a crowd, but I AM glad they kept the belt on her long enough that A) she at least gets to lose it in a big, important match in front of of a packed arena, and B) she will hopefully be the longest-reigning AEW champ for a while yet. I don't want too many year-plus title reigns, but after she singlehandedly carried the women's division on her back for those first, brutal months of the pandemic era, she absolutely deserved it. Also, NEW BELT!!!! FINALLY!!!! I kinda liked the rose gold look of the original, but the yellower gold of the new one does make it fit in more with the other belts while retaining the uniqueness of the design. It's BIGGER, is the most important part, anyway, the original was clearly designed to look good on Riho (the smallest woman on the roster), so when she eventually lost it to Nyla (the largest woman on the roster), it immediately started looking like a fucking joke of a toy belt. New one is MUCH better (I hope Shida gets to keep the original after carrying it for so long, though). ALSO, Shida cut her first in-ring promo in English, which is something she's wanted to do for SO long and has worked SO hard over the last year to get to that point and she was SO good and aaaaaaaah!!!!!
Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky: Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan. The last time there were crowds? Uno and Stu were a great tag team, struggling to get over with fans that pretty much hated their whole gimmick, but sticking with it nonetheless. Now, Dark Order is a sprawling faction (including Colt Cabana, who made his debut at Revolution last year helping SCU (including Scorpio) beat their ass to much fanfare), utterly beloved by the fans, and seeing them assembled in the ring to crazy cheers and a whole crowd of people putting up the Dark Order claw salute with them for the first time was... man. MAN! One of the biggest tragedies of the pandemic (in terms of wrestling, obviously) was Brodie debuting in the very first empty-arena show, helping Dark Order become something seriously special, and then not living to see them get this sort of reception. The most bittersweet of face turns, but man, you gotta feel good for these guys after everything they've been through. Can't wait for Anna to get back so the family can be whole again. HA HA I'M EMOTIONAL AGAIN.
Then the show ended on a big celebration of the Inner Circle, which uuuuuuuugh, but hey, I guess it's warranted, since they're definitely finally breaking up at Double or Nothing, right?
R-right?
Double or Nothing 2021
The Buy In: Serena Deeb (c) vs. Riho for the NWA Women's World Championship: A great, high-energy banger to kick things off as the sun started going down on Daily's Place (for one of the last times on a live show, so bittersweet), which was no surprise after their Eliminator Tournament match. I am LOVING Serena's new heelish edge, it played beautifully to the crowd (since Riho is the most obvious endearing babyface in the company), these two are just such veterans and so enjoyable to watch. Ending was never really in doubt, since NWA's not gonna have their title change hands on somebody else's PPV, but still a fantastic match to start the show.
Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage: So kind of them to put my boy first so that he could fight in the beautiful golden light of the setting sun. He's also got new pants with stars and glittery horses on them, and they look VERY good. AND BRIAN CAME OUT IN HIS OLD TERMINATOR GEAR!!! THE MACHINE!!! Love to see it! A great, hard-hitting match to start the show proper, they pulled out all the stops to make it feel like more than just a rematch from Dynamite a month ago. Hangman has got to have one of the prettiest moonsaults in the business, man. The bit where Brian tried to go for a Buckshot Lariat was such a great 'oh, fuck you' moment, almost at odds with the ending of the match, with him refusing to let Team Taz help him cheat and it costing him. God, the ENERGY in the last couple minutes of this thing, SO GOOD.
The Young Bucks (c) vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: Oh, fuck, this one hurts. I managed to make myself believe, is the thing. I really thought Mox and Eddie could take it. Which was one thing, but I'm still quite enjoying the Bucks' run as champs, so I was going to be happy either way as long as the match was good, it was win/win for me going in, and then Mox and Eddie came out to Wild Thing and I belatedly realized that this was Eddie's first AEW show with a crowd and ha ha ha I'm almost crying just thinking about it now. When he was brought in for a match in Cody's open challenge last summer, NWA was shuttered due to the pandemic, the indies were shuttered, there was nowhere to work, and he was at the point where he had to sell his wrestling boots just to pay his mortgage. And now he's got a title match on pay-per-view, with an entire arena of fans chanting his name over the those of some of AEW's top stars. And once I realized all of that, damn it, I really needed them to win. And they didn't. Which shouldn't have been a surprise, since at the end of the day, no matter how horrible they're being, the Bucks are quite possibly the best tag team in the world right now, but damn it. For just a little while, I believed. Match of the night for me, no matter how much it hurts.
At least I got a run-in from Elite Hunter Frankie Kazarian and his murder hoodie to make me smile, it is seriously my favourite new development. Also, the Diorsday Device was an amazing call from Excalibur.
Casino Battle Royale: Exactly the balm to my shattered soul that I needed after the last match. Once the joker was revealed (Lio Rush! Hi, Lio! I know him from NJPW Strong! He apparently injured himself here and has since retired from wrestling??? Bye, Lio???), I really thought Christian had this in the bag and I was cool with that, and then... Jungle Boy got him out. After so many battle royals where he was one of the last men standing because he's just a great energetic guy to play off of, Jungle Boy finally fucking pulled one out. And hoooooleeeeeee SHIT, does the crowd love him. Like, I remain completely blown away by how INSANELY over Jungle Boy is now; Jurassic Express was always popular, but my god, not like this. Seeing him triumphant at the end while all of Daily's Place sings Tarzan Boy in an excited, rising chorus? Fucking chills. The beautiful, unexpected, feel-good moment of the night that I have chosen to be my default memory of the show whenever I look back on it.
Other highlights: Max Caster clearly freezing up a little bit while doing his first freestyle rap in front of an actual audience before getting into it and remembering how to play to a crowd again; so many stalling YOs! Christian being the first one in and the last one out, a great showing that really lives up to his catchphrase, even if he didn't clinch it. The HUGE pop for the Varsity Blonds, including a whole-ass chant rallying behind Brian (though I do wonder how much of that had to do with his dad's Dark Side of the Ring Episode airing recently). Penta's kickass new Joker-themed gear. Also, Jungle Boy winning does seem to reinforce my theory that the opener was supposed to be Hangman and Christian vs. Cage and Starks until Starks broke his neck, so.
Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes: I totally forgot until the horrible flag-filled 'military appreciation announcement' and video package started that this was all happening on Memorial Day in the States. Of fucking COURSE Cody wasn't gonna lose, that's why they set up this stupid America vs. UK angle in the first place, grossssssssss. Cody came out looking like fucking Homelander. He's totally gonna run for Congress once he retires. The obvious low point of the night, which is a shame, since I do quite like Ogogo (his finisher is officially called the Guv'nor's Hammer and lol I'm sorry but that rules), and he's pretty decent in-ring, if clearly pretty green. I really liked the way they kept finding different ways to make his punches the deadliest part of his arsenal, there are only so many spots you can do with 'one stupid punch', and they found enough to keep it from ever getting stale or predictable. Cody remains very good at making other guys look very good in the ring. Whatever, WOOOOOO, THE AMERICAN DREAM DEFEATED A BI-RACIAL, VISUALLY-IMPAIRED IMMIGRANT, USA! USA! USA! USA!
Miro (c) vs. Lance Archer for the AEW TNT Championship: Honestly, as much as I like both of these guys, this really could have been a Dynamite match. Though maybe it was necessary to get the energy back up after 'cody wins lol' ahead of the women's match? Whatever, I love a good hoss fight. Lance really deserves a push eventually, though. Birthday boy Jake the Snake looked great in his fancy coat.
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. for the AEW Women's World Championship: SHIDA'S ALL-WHITE GEAR, STARS IN MY EEEEEEEEEYES. The way she was clearly trying not to tear up at the beginning, my heart. (Britt's new bloody sequin gear looks great, too, to be clear, but she'll have lots of time to show off as champ, my everything belongs to Shida on this night). Damn great match, hard-hitting and brutal (some of those hits looked SUPER stiff), tons of crazy near-falls, but without much in the way of shenanigans; Rebel got her obligatory crutch spot in, and it took a curb stomp onto the belt to finally be able to hit my girl with the Lockjaw, but until the end, it was overall a clean fight, really giving Britt a chance to show how much she's improved over the last couple of years. As much as I wish Shida could have gotten to have a successful defense in front of a crowd, it was time to end her run while the fans were still firmly on her side; Britt's so popular right now and has been the heir apparent for so long that I think there was a risk of people starting to turn on Shida if she didn't give it up soon. She got to be AEW's only 2020 champion to both win her title and lose it in front of a packed PPV crowd, and that's not nothing: every other title has changed hands over the course of the pandemic. Looking forward to seeing what's next for her. As for the new champ, I don't like her because she's very good at what she does (being unlikeable), but damn if I didn't have a proper little emotion when Tony came off of commentary to go hug her afterward; his little interview segments with her insulting him were such a crucial part of her finally finding her voice as a heel early on, and to see that seemingly grow into such a genuine friendship is actually really touching??? I'm soft. Especially once the 'thank you Shida' chants kicked in.
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page: It may be time to give up on my hopes of Scorpio and Ethan breaking up, seeing as they now have an entrance theme and titantron and tag team name of their very own (Men of the Year? Nah, sorry, you're the Disneyland Boyfriends). Sting did a real good job of making me forget how worryingly old he is after that first gnarly bump on the entrance ramp, which was very impressive; he stuck to what he can do at his age, and that still turned out to be a pretty impressive amount! Also, Darby's l'il Stinger facepaint in lieu of his usual skeleton boi was adorable. This was a solid match, but it was Ethan and Darby trying to murder each other throughout that really captivated me. WHEN ETHAN FUCKING YEETED DARBY OUT OF THE RING AND ALL THE WAY INTO THE CROWD??? JESUS CHRIST. And that moment when Sting and Scorpio have them locked into matching submission holds and they just start slapping each other and clawing at each other through the pain??? OH MY GOD, JUST KISS, YOU TWO.
PAC vs. Kenny Omega (c) vs. Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship: Now THAT is how you do a threeway, oh man this kicked SO much ass. Everyone had a role to play, and they played them to perfection. PAC is there to be an athletic little freak of nature, Kenny is there to be unbeatable, and Orange is there to keep everything from getting too dour, pulling their attention whenever it's time to move into the next act while proving himself to be a legit main event star, gimmick and all. One of those fights where, even though the ending is never in doubt, it's very much about the journey and not the destination. That one shotgun dropkick where PAC just gets LAUNCHED backwards into the turnbuckle like he's a fucking cartoon character or someone had a rope around his waist and yanked on it? Orange putting his hands in his pockets to avoid getting snapdragoned off the top rope?? The audience losing their minds at Don screwing Orange out of the win and the look of MURDER on Orange's face after??? The sheer panic as Kenny tries and fails to break up PAC's brutalizer on Orange, again and again as Orange fades, rapidly running out of time until all he can do is take out the goddamn ref????? Nothing but respect for MY main event.
Mark Henry is gonna be a commentator on Rampage when that starts in August! He's a WWE guy, I don't know him, but he seems cool!
The Inner Circle vs. The Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede Match: What do you mean that wasn't the last match of the night? Ugh, fine. This was probably fully as good as a match between a faction I don't care about and a faction that I actively want to disband (done in a format that I don't think ever should have been repeated) could be. I get why they did it, though. It works as kind of a loving farewell to the venue that's been their home base for over a year. Ending on Kenny cheating to retain his belt would have kind of a downer and they wanted something big and fun for the fans. But considering the conclusion was everything I didn't want in this life, it just served as an enormous buzzkill at the end of the night for me personally. FREE PROUD 'N' POWERFUL.
Stray thoughts: Shawn Spears really needs a personality other than 'chairs' at some point, but the bit where Sammy comes upon him in his creepy little... throne room/chair storage closet? Looking like he's about to bust out in the Cell Block Tango? Was very funny. Wardlow coming after Hager with a giant icicle was an utter delight. WHY IS THERE A NIGHTCLUB IN DAILY'S PLACE??? AND WHY WERE FTR AND TULLY DRESSED LIKE THE COOLEST GUYS AT THE GAY BAR??? AND WHY WAS IT THE BEST PART OF THE MATCH??? MJF had lovely sparkly gems on his pants. I wish this was just a feud between him and Jericho like it so clearly wants to be. Jericho screaming into the megaphone was almost as good as his witch hat last year. Sammy getting the pin after being the one to take it at Double or Nothing last year (and also in the very first AEW match of them all, in the buy in of the FIRST Double or Nothing) was a really satisfying bit of growth for him, and combined with Jungle Boy's win earlier in the night makes this feel like a real love letter to the next generation of talent in addition to a closure of the pandemic era, a promise that things are going to start being really great again, real soon.
...I think I like this match more on the replay, actually, now that I've had time to process my distaste at the Inner Circle not breaking up. Still mostly just made me want to go rewatch the original Stadium Stampede, though.
So that's Double or Nothing 2021 in the can. AEW's third year of existence has officially begun. I'm glad to be on board now!
AEW Dynamite #87
The Young Bucks vs. PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo: At one point, Nick rips off Penta's mask like he did to Fenix two months ago, and Penta is WEARING A SECOND MASK UNDERNEATH IT and it was the best part of a very solid match to open the first of the NBA finals time-displaced filler episodes. Shout out to poor reluctant heel Brandon Cutler, being dragged along for the ride. Just amazing. BUT NOT AS AMAZING AS EDDIE COMING OUT AT THE END WITH THE SAVE AAAAAAHHHHHH bringing back his old drama while his husband is out having a baby or something, psssh.
Mark Henry talks a bit, then Vickie comes out to reveal Andrade! New signing! He's coming from WWE, so I don't know him at all aside from the fact that he's challenging Kenny to his AAA championship at the next TriplemanÃa, but he seems cool! I remain a little wary every time someone new gets signed, since the roster is already SO big, and lots of talent is already kinda relegated to the Dark shows (which are about to shrink a lot as the show gets taken back on the road and the late night marathon tapings at Daily's Place come to an end), but at least it keeps things constantly fresh, with plenty of new matchups always on the table. I wonder why they didn't have him come out after the three-way at Double or Nothing?
Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson vs. QT Marshall & Anthony Ogogo: As much as I'm thoroughly sick of Cody's... everything, I remain curious as to what the endgame for this Nightmare Family/Factory feud will be. Lee defeating his former teacher QT, maybe? Hopefully Ogogo gets a decent push along the way, he is really winning me over, even as his in-ring stuff is still developing. He's just fun! Good to know QT's not hurt too bad after he got scratched from the Casino Battle Royale and had to be replaced.
Inner Circle celebration, again, forever, sob, I WILL NEVER BE FREE. Santana and Ortiz will never be free. Sammy will never be free. Wardlow worked shoot fighting Hager should be a good time, at least? Even if Hager will almost certainly win, being the actual MMA guy, gross. At least I'll always have Wardlow's New Year's Smash victory... and lol I just realized why this feud feels so fucking shitty to me, they're running the whole thing BACKWARDS. It came out of nowhere started with the big unearned violent blowoff match that really should have been the end of it at Blood & Guts, then we got the big fun cinematic match that should have set it up at Stadium Stampede, and only NOW are we finally moving on to actually seeing the individual members fight each other?? This is the fucking Justice League of feuds, oh my god I hate it.
Best Friends calling out Kenny and Kenny talking shit about Jungle Boy with Don in the back cleansed my palate ahead of the next match, though, thankfully.
Christian Cage & Jungle Boy vs. Private Party: Christian seemingly adopting Jungle Boy is pretty damn great, not gonna lie. A fun, low-stakes match, seemingly to set up Christian vs. Matt Hardy? Who the fuck ISN'T Matt Hardy feuding with at this point? What even happened to his thing with Dark Order? PICK A LANE, YOU CARNY FUCK. I wonder if we'll be seeing Broken Matt Hardy making a return with audiences back...
Team Taz calling out Hangman for a tag match next week, because I guess we're just continuing every single storyline from Double or Nothing indefinitely?? Whatever, I'm sure they're just waiting to be back on Wednesdays and on the move in front of fresh crowds before starting new shit, that's fair and I'm game for getting one step closer to Brian's face turn.
Sting and Darby get called out by Sky and Ego. Because THAT'S not over, either, for some reason, except the conceit here is that Darby's gotta team with someone else against them now, so my 'Ethan/Darby fight each other forever' endgame is very much still in play, yes good. I'm gonna guess he'll pick Lance as his partner.
Britt's ridiculous title celebration was fun, and I'm glad she's not veering toward a face turn considering how insanely over she is with the crowds, the temptation to play up to them when they fucking love you that much has got to be palpable, and that's how you get shit like unconvincing babyface Jericho. Nyla throwing burgers everywhere and popping the balloons with her nails was so wonderful that I'm sad I don't see Britt losing the belt in her first defense, since I'd love for Nyla to be the first two-time champ.
AND THEN EDDIE DECLARED HIMSELF TO BE ALLIES WITH PAC AND PENTA DESPITE THEIR PROTESTATIONS EVEN THOUGH HE SPENT MONTHS MANIPULATING PENTA AND TRYING TO TURN HIM AGAINST HIS OWN BROTHER AND OH MY GOD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. "Look, bastard. Look, former best friend." What a fucking icon.
Red Velvet vs. The Bunny: A total plotless filler match for the women this week, buried in the second-to-last death slot (which was after like 11:30pm this week for good measure), cool cool cool!
Miro vs. Uno next week, I'm really glad they look to be setting up Miro to be as much of a fighting champion as Darby was in his last couple of months with the title. Really gets mileage out of the reign and makes it memorable, no matter how long it ends up being, you know?
Dustin Rhodes vs. Nick Comoroto in a Bullrope Match: Nice to see Nick get a bit of a spotlight, since Ogogo has (understandably) taken a lot of the Factory spotlight in terms of up-and-coming talents. Best part was when Fuego jumped on his back from the sidelines to save Dustin, I love it when stuff from Sammy's vlog gets put on TV. HE'S GONNA GET SO MANY FOREHEAD SMOOCHES FOR THAT ONE (UPDATE: he only got one big forehead smooch because his mask smelled like Nick, FAIR ENOUGH). Three displaced playoffs episodes to go~
When Our Shadows Fall
Oh, look at that, Serena lost the title. I wonder if Thunder Rosa has a shot now and is gonna keep gunning for Kamille, or if she's just marking the days until she can sign with AEW full time. Also, Kylie Rae is here now, good for her! She totally ghosted on the last two promotions to sign her due to mental health issues, I really hope she finds what she needs here. Can you tell I'm only watching NWA for the women?
Zombie Walk
Matt Cardona imitating Moxley's little wiggle walk that he does before revealing his identity was so damn good, ha! What a brilliant way to get some nuclear heat with the crowd while introducing himself! The crowd reactions were SO GOOD, the pop at the walk, the bigger pop at the Paradigm Shift, the biggest pop as he unmasks, and then the long moment of silence before the booing kicks in, an absolute masterclass in working an audience.
That cheezy bread was so good. Now to figure out what I'm going to do with my week.
I have ordered pizza and cheezy bread as a reward to myself for somehow continuing to exist, and since I haven't had it in me to update DW much this week, I will throw all the random wrestle feelings I've had since last time behind some cuts while I eat my food and just fucking CHILL for a bit.
AEW Dynamite #86
Okay, so the real story happening in Dynamite right now, at least until NBA playoffs are over and they go back on tour and stop spinning their wheels while shunted off to shitty late night time slots, is the return of PEOPLE. Full capacity crowds are back! And while it very much kinda weirds me out and feels dodgy, living somewhere that's still in the process of coming out of the absolute worst of the pandemic means I don't have any proper perspective on the actual state of things down south beyond the abstract, so I am totally content to just immerse myself in the illusion and pretend we are no longer in hell world for two hours at a time, leaving my aspersions at the door. It's pretty nice! I keep getting all emotional about it!
Darby Allin vs. Cezar Bononi: Like, seriously! This is just kind of a nothing match, but hearing that crowd go totally apeshit for Darby (probably AEW's biggest young homegrown star (A STATEMENT THAT MAY BE MORE DEBATABLE AFTER DOUBLE OR NOTHING, BUT I'LL GET TO THAT)), after over a year of empty arena shows and Austin Gunn having to get Dark talent hyped at ringside and socially distanced fans sitting approximately eight miles from the ring... fucking chills, man. I'm just so happy for the wrestlers?? This is their THING, man, this is what they DO, they feed off the energy around them and channel it into ridiculous fake combat and theatrics, and to be left to their own devices for so long, having to find other sources for that in-the-moment inspiration to really make it feel real and not just going through the motions, it must be so exhausting. This isn't what they signed up for, man! And now suddenly, it's over! The crowds are back! They're like a bunch of sad, understimulated zoo animals abruptly placed back into the habitats where they thrive and it's BEAUTIFUL to watch, and when I think about how much has happened since the last shows with crowds, it kinda blows my mind a little (and also makes me crazy sad in some cases, but more on that later). Darby's entire reign as TNT champion happened in the interim. Cezar wasn't even close to being around yet, let alone part of a delightful little stable of jobbers. And here they are now, kicking off what really feels like it can only be a fantastic new era for AEW. I'M REALLY DEEP IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT ALL OF THIS, MAN.
Then there was a long, terrible, momentum-killing weigh-in for Cody and Ogogo for some dumb reason, MOVING ON. The Christian/Hobbs backstage brawl that followed it was much cooler, loved the hit with the big... I want to say ashtray? just fucking exploding with sand everywhere.
Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela: The last time there were crowds? Hangman was tag team champion with Kenny Omega and they were one of the hottest things going. People were fucking CRAZY about him. After his brutal, heartbreaking 2020 and the slow rebuild in the aftermath, I was really unsure as to whether that would remain the case, or if his hype would have cooled somewhat, especially since he's mostly just been doing his own thing since Revolution. Cue the insane pop when he came out, NOPE HE'S STILL AS OVER AS EVER YOU LOVE TO SEE IT. Joey, on the other hand, is much less of a main roster mainstay than he used to be, which is unfortunate, but I'm still very invested in him and Sonny as a tag team, so hopefully they still get stuff to do with the Dark shows (presumably) changing formats when AEW gets back on the road next month.
Anyway, this match ended with Hangman getting split open bad and bleeding EVERYWHERE, and then he cut a promo on Brian Cage while covered in blood and it was amaaaaaaaaaaazing (and also seems to finally be leading us back around to that face turn for Cage that I've been expecting for ages now? MORE ON THAT LATER). No Team Taz at ringside for Double or Nothing!
Great promo from Mox and Eddie, no surprise there. There was a mudpit involved. They called the Young Bucks 'Rod and Todd Flanders'. They just... they just make me so happy.
Fun bit setting up the three-way at DoN, PAC promo turning into Kenny promo turning into Orange being Orange, just delightful. Better than the Jade interview that followed, where it turns out Mark Sterling is gonna be her manager after all. What a waste of time THAT whole plotline was.
Jade Cargill vs. KiLynn King: At least she's fucking fighting this week instead of just cutting endless promos, bleh. ANYWAY, the last time there were crowds? Neither of these ladies were around yet! KiLynn was doing her thing on the indies and Jade was... training, I guess? Was she even a wrestler yet? WILD. So great for them to get their first proper AEW crowd receptions right off the bat like this, especially since KiLynn still isn't actually signed, as far as I know; she might not have a ton of opportunities like this in the future, and she's been such a fantastic mainstay on the Dark shows that she really deserves it.
Jake and Lance's promos continue to be fun, I kinda wish this was a proper feud with Miro instead of just a one-off title match.
Miro (c) vs. Dante Martin for the AEW TNT Championship: Poor little wrestle baby, fed unceremoniously to the large Bulgarian man. :( Dude's gotta eat, though!
Hikaru Shida celebration! I'm sad she's not gonna get a successful title defense in front of a crowd, but I AM glad they kept the belt on her long enough that A) she at least gets to lose it in a big, important match in front of of a packed arena, and B) she will hopefully be the longest-reigning AEW champ for a while yet. I don't want too many year-plus title reigns, but after she singlehandedly carried the women's division on her back for those first, brutal months of the pandemic era, she absolutely deserved it. Also, NEW BELT!!!! FINALLY!!!! I kinda liked the rose gold look of the original, but the yellower gold of the new one does make it fit in more with the other belts while retaining the uniqueness of the design. It's BIGGER, is the most important part, anyway, the original was clearly designed to look good on Riho (the smallest woman on the roster), so when she eventually lost it to Nyla (the largest woman on the roster), it immediately started looking like a fucking joke of a toy belt. New one is MUCH better (I hope Shida gets to keep the original after carrying it for so long, though). ALSO, Shida cut her first in-ring promo in English, which is something she's wanted to do for SO long and has worked SO hard over the last year to get to that point and she was SO good and aaaaaaaah!!!!!
Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky: Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan. The last time there were crowds? Uno and Stu were a great tag team, struggling to get over with fans that pretty much hated their whole gimmick, but sticking with it nonetheless. Now, Dark Order is a sprawling faction (including Colt Cabana, who made his debut at Revolution last year helping SCU (including Scorpio) beat their ass to much fanfare), utterly beloved by the fans, and seeing them assembled in the ring to crazy cheers and a whole crowd of people putting up the Dark Order claw salute with them for the first time was... man. MAN! One of the biggest tragedies of the pandemic (in terms of wrestling, obviously) was Brodie debuting in the very first empty-arena show, helping Dark Order become something seriously special, and then not living to see them get this sort of reception. The most bittersweet of face turns, but man, you gotta feel good for these guys after everything they've been through. Can't wait for Anna to get back so the family can be whole again. HA HA I'M EMOTIONAL AGAIN.
Then the show ended on a big celebration of the Inner Circle, which uuuuuuuugh, but hey, I guess it's warranted, since they're definitely finally breaking up at Double or Nothing, right?
R-right?
Double or Nothing 2021
The Buy In: Serena Deeb (c) vs. Riho for the NWA Women's World Championship: A great, high-energy banger to kick things off as the sun started going down on Daily's Place (for one of the last times on a live show, so bittersweet), which was no surprise after their Eliminator Tournament match. I am LOVING Serena's new heelish edge, it played beautifully to the crowd (since Riho is the most obvious endearing babyface in the company), these two are just such veterans and so enjoyable to watch. Ending was never really in doubt, since NWA's not gonna have their title change hands on somebody else's PPV, but still a fantastic match to start the show.
Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage: So kind of them to put my boy first so that he could fight in the beautiful golden light of the setting sun. He's also got new pants with stars and glittery horses on them, and they look VERY good. AND BRIAN CAME OUT IN HIS OLD TERMINATOR GEAR!!! THE MACHINE!!! Love to see it! A great, hard-hitting match to start the show proper, they pulled out all the stops to make it feel like more than just a rematch from Dynamite a month ago. Hangman has got to have one of the prettiest moonsaults in the business, man. The bit where Brian tried to go for a Buckshot Lariat was such a great 'oh, fuck you' moment, almost at odds with the ending of the match, with him refusing to let Team Taz help him cheat and it costing him. God, the ENERGY in the last couple minutes of this thing, SO GOOD.
The Young Bucks (c) vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: Oh, fuck, this one hurts. I managed to make myself believe, is the thing. I really thought Mox and Eddie could take it. Which was one thing, but I'm still quite enjoying the Bucks' run as champs, so I was going to be happy either way as long as the match was good, it was win/win for me going in, and then Mox and Eddie came out to Wild Thing and I belatedly realized that this was Eddie's first AEW show with a crowd and ha ha ha I'm almost crying just thinking about it now. When he was brought in for a match in Cody's open challenge last summer, NWA was shuttered due to the pandemic, the indies were shuttered, there was nowhere to work, and he was at the point where he had to sell his wrestling boots just to pay his mortgage. And now he's got a title match on pay-per-view, with an entire arena of fans chanting his name over the those of some of AEW's top stars. And once I realized all of that, damn it, I really needed them to win. And they didn't. Which shouldn't have been a surprise, since at the end of the day, no matter how horrible they're being, the Bucks are quite possibly the best tag team in the world right now, but damn it. For just a little while, I believed. Match of the night for me, no matter how much it hurts.
At least I got a run-in from Elite Hunter Frankie Kazarian and his murder hoodie to make me smile, it is seriously my favourite new development. Also, the Diorsday Device was an amazing call from Excalibur.
Casino Battle Royale: Exactly the balm to my shattered soul that I needed after the last match. Once the joker was revealed (Lio Rush! Hi, Lio! I know him from NJPW Strong! He apparently injured himself here and has since retired from wrestling??? Bye, Lio???), I really thought Christian had this in the bag and I was cool with that, and then... Jungle Boy got him out. After so many battle royals where he was one of the last men standing because he's just a great energetic guy to play off of, Jungle Boy finally fucking pulled one out. And hoooooleeeeeee SHIT, does the crowd love him. Like, I remain completely blown away by how INSANELY over Jungle Boy is now; Jurassic Express was always popular, but my god, not like this. Seeing him triumphant at the end while all of Daily's Place sings Tarzan Boy in an excited, rising chorus? Fucking chills. The beautiful, unexpected, feel-good moment of the night that I have chosen to be my default memory of the show whenever I look back on it.
Other highlights: Max Caster clearly freezing up a little bit while doing his first freestyle rap in front of an actual audience before getting into it and remembering how to play to a crowd again; so many stalling YOs! Christian being the first one in and the last one out, a great showing that really lives up to his catchphrase, even if he didn't clinch it. The HUGE pop for the Varsity Blonds, including a whole-ass chant rallying behind Brian (though I do wonder how much of that had to do with his dad's Dark Side of the Ring Episode airing recently). Penta's kickass new Joker-themed gear. Also, Jungle Boy winning does seem to reinforce my theory that the opener was supposed to be Hangman and Christian vs. Cage and Starks until Starks broke his neck, so.
Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes: I totally forgot until the horrible flag-filled 'military appreciation announcement' and video package started that this was all happening on Memorial Day in the States. Of fucking COURSE Cody wasn't gonna lose, that's why they set up this stupid America vs. UK angle in the first place, grossssssssss. Cody came out looking like fucking Homelander. He's totally gonna run for Congress once he retires. The obvious low point of the night, which is a shame, since I do quite like Ogogo (his finisher is officially called the Guv'nor's Hammer and lol I'm sorry but that rules), and he's pretty decent in-ring, if clearly pretty green. I really liked the way they kept finding different ways to make his punches the deadliest part of his arsenal, there are only so many spots you can do with 'one stupid punch', and they found enough to keep it from ever getting stale or predictable. Cody remains very good at making other guys look very good in the ring. Whatever, WOOOOOO, THE AMERICAN DREAM DEFEATED A BI-RACIAL, VISUALLY-IMPAIRED IMMIGRANT, USA! USA! USA! USA!
Miro (c) vs. Lance Archer for the AEW TNT Championship: Honestly, as much as I like both of these guys, this really could have been a Dynamite match. Though maybe it was necessary to get the energy back up after 'cody wins lol' ahead of the women's match? Whatever, I love a good hoss fight. Lance really deserves a push eventually, though. Birthday boy Jake the Snake looked great in his fancy coat.
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. for the AEW Women's World Championship: SHIDA'S ALL-WHITE GEAR, STARS IN MY EEEEEEEEEYES. The way she was clearly trying not to tear up at the beginning, my heart. (Britt's new bloody sequin gear looks great, too, to be clear, but she'll have lots of time to show off as champ, my everything belongs to Shida on this night). Damn great match, hard-hitting and brutal (some of those hits looked SUPER stiff), tons of crazy near-falls, but without much in the way of shenanigans; Rebel got her obligatory crutch spot in, and it took a curb stomp onto the belt to finally be able to hit my girl with the Lockjaw, but until the end, it was overall a clean fight, really giving Britt a chance to show how much she's improved over the last couple of years. As much as I wish Shida could have gotten to have a successful defense in front of a crowd, it was time to end her run while the fans were still firmly on her side; Britt's so popular right now and has been the heir apparent for so long that I think there was a risk of people starting to turn on Shida if she didn't give it up soon. She got to be AEW's only 2020 champion to both win her title and lose it in front of a packed PPV crowd, and that's not nothing: every other title has changed hands over the course of the pandemic. Looking forward to seeing what's next for her. As for the new champ, I don't like her because she's very good at what she does (being unlikeable), but damn if I didn't have a proper little emotion when Tony came off of commentary to go hug her afterward; his little interview segments with her insulting him were such a crucial part of her finally finding her voice as a heel early on, and to see that seemingly grow into such a genuine friendship is actually really touching??? I'm soft. Especially once the 'thank you Shida' chants kicked in.
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page: It may be time to give up on my hopes of Scorpio and Ethan breaking up, seeing as they now have an entrance theme and titantron and tag team name of their very own (Men of the Year? Nah, sorry, you're the Disneyland Boyfriends). Sting did a real good job of making me forget how worryingly old he is after that first gnarly bump on the entrance ramp, which was very impressive; he stuck to what he can do at his age, and that still turned out to be a pretty impressive amount! Also, Darby's l'il Stinger facepaint in lieu of his usual skeleton boi was adorable. This was a solid match, but it was Ethan and Darby trying to murder each other throughout that really captivated me. WHEN ETHAN FUCKING YEETED DARBY OUT OF THE RING AND ALL THE WAY INTO THE CROWD??? JESUS CHRIST. And that moment when Sting and Scorpio have them locked into matching submission holds and they just start slapping each other and clawing at each other through the pain??? OH MY GOD, JUST KISS, YOU TWO.
PAC vs. Kenny Omega (c) vs. Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship: Now THAT is how you do a threeway, oh man this kicked SO much ass. Everyone had a role to play, and they played them to perfection. PAC is there to be an athletic little freak of nature, Kenny is there to be unbeatable, and Orange is there to keep everything from getting too dour, pulling their attention whenever it's time to move into the next act while proving himself to be a legit main event star, gimmick and all. One of those fights where, even though the ending is never in doubt, it's very much about the journey and not the destination. That one shotgun dropkick where PAC just gets LAUNCHED backwards into the turnbuckle like he's a fucking cartoon character or someone had a rope around his waist and yanked on it? Orange putting his hands in his pockets to avoid getting snapdragoned off the top rope?? The audience losing their minds at Don screwing Orange out of the win and the look of MURDER on Orange's face after??? The sheer panic as Kenny tries and fails to break up PAC's brutalizer on Orange, again and again as Orange fades, rapidly running out of time until all he can do is take out the goddamn ref????? Nothing but respect for MY main event.
Mark Henry is gonna be a commentator on Rampage when that starts in August! He's a WWE guy, I don't know him, but he seems cool!
The Inner Circle vs. The Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede Match: What do you mean that wasn't the last match of the night? Ugh, fine. This was probably fully as good as a match between a faction I don't care about and a faction that I actively want to disband (done in a format that I don't think ever should have been repeated) could be. I get why they did it, though. It works as kind of a loving farewell to the venue that's been their home base for over a year. Ending on Kenny cheating to retain his belt would have kind of a downer and they wanted something big and fun for the fans. But considering the conclusion was everything I didn't want in this life, it just served as an enormous buzzkill at the end of the night for me personally. FREE PROUD 'N' POWERFUL.
Stray thoughts: Shawn Spears really needs a personality other than 'chairs' at some point, but the bit where Sammy comes upon him in his creepy little... throne room/chair storage closet? Looking like he's about to bust out in the Cell Block Tango? Was very funny. Wardlow coming after Hager with a giant icicle was an utter delight. WHY IS THERE A NIGHTCLUB IN DAILY'S PLACE??? AND WHY WERE FTR AND TULLY DRESSED LIKE THE COOLEST GUYS AT THE GAY BAR??? AND WHY WAS IT THE BEST PART OF THE MATCH??? MJF had lovely sparkly gems on his pants. I wish this was just a feud between him and Jericho like it so clearly wants to be. Jericho screaming into the megaphone was almost as good as his witch hat last year. Sammy getting the pin after being the one to take it at Double or Nothing last year (and also in the very first AEW match of them all, in the buy in of the FIRST Double or Nothing) was a really satisfying bit of growth for him, and combined with Jungle Boy's win earlier in the night makes this feel like a real love letter to the next generation of talent in addition to a closure of the pandemic era, a promise that things are going to start being really great again, real soon.
...I think I like this match more on the replay, actually, now that I've had time to process my distaste at the Inner Circle not breaking up. Still mostly just made me want to go rewatch the original Stadium Stampede, though.
So that's Double or Nothing 2021 in the can. AEW's third year of existence has officially begun. I'm glad to be on board now!
AEW Dynamite #87
The Young Bucks vs. PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo: At one point, Nick rips off Penta's mask like he did to Fenix two months ago, and Penta is WEARING A SECOND MASK UNDERNEATH IT and it was the best part of a very solid match to open the first of the NBA finals time-displaced filler episodes. Shout out to poor reluctant heel Brandon Cutler, being dragged along for the ride. Just amazing. BUT NOT AS AMAZING AS EDDIE COMING OUT AT THE END WITH THE SAVE AAAAAAHHHHHH bringing back his old drama while his husband is out having a baby or something, psssh.
Mark Henry talks a bit, then Vickie comes out to reveal Andrade! New signing! He's coming from WWE, so I don't know him at all aside from the fact that he's challenging Kenny to his AAA championship at the next TriplemanÃa, but he seems cool! I remain a little wary every time someone new gets signed, since the roster is already SO big, and lots of talent is already kinda relegated to the Dark shows (which are about to shrink a lot as the show gets taken back on the road and the late night marathon tapings at Daily's Place come to an end), but at least it keeps things constantly fresh, with plenty of new matchups always on the table. I wonder why they didn't have him come out after the three-way at Double or Nothing?
Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson vs. QT Marshall & Anthony Ogogo: As much as I'm thoroughly sick of Cody's... everything, I remain curious as to what the endgame for this Nightmare Family/Factory feud will be. Lee defeating his former teacher QT, maybe? Hopefully Ogogo gets a decent push along the way, he is really winning me over, even as his in-ring stuff is still developing. He's just fun! Good to know QT's not hurt too bad after he got scratched from the Casino Battle Royale and had to be replaced.
Inner Circle celebration, again, forever, sob, I WILL NEVER BE FREE. Santana and Ortiz will never be free. Sammy will never be free. Wardlow worked shoot fighting Hager should be a good time, at least? Even if Hager will almost certainly win, being the actual MMA guy, gross. At least I'll always have Wardlow's New Year's Smash victory... and lol I just realized why this feud feels so fucking shitty to me, they're running the whole thing BACKWARDS. It came out of nowhere started with the big unearned violent blowoff match that really should have been the end of it at Blood & Guts, then we got the big fun cinematic match that should have set it up at Stadium Stampede, and only NOW are we finally moving on to actually seeing the individual members fight each other?? This is the fucking Justice League of feuds, oh my god I hate it.
Best Friends calling out Kenny and Kenny talking shit about Jungle Boy with Don in the back cleansed my palate ahead of the next match, though, thankfully.
Christian Cage & Jungle Boy vs. Private Party: Christian seemingly adopting Jungle Boy is pretty damn great, not gonna lie. A fun, low-stakes match, seemingly to set up Christian vs. Matt Hardy? Who the fuck ISN'T Matt Hardy feuding with at this point? What even happened to his thing with Dark Order? PICK A LANE, YOU CARNY FUCK. I wonder if we'll be seeing Broken Matt Hardy making a return with audiences back...
Team Taz calling out Hangman for a tag match next week, because I guess we're just continuing every single storyline from Double or Nothing indefinitely?? Whatever, I'm sure they're just waiting to be back on Wednesdays and on the move in front of fresh crowds before starting new shit, that's fair and I'm game for getting one step closer to Brian's face turn.
Sting and Darby get called out by Sky and Ego. Because THAT'S not over, either, for some reason, except the conceit here is that Darby's gotta team with someone else against them now, so my 'Ethan/Darby fight each other forever' endgame is very much still in play, yes good. I'm gonna guess he'll pick Lance as his partner.
Britt's ridiculous title celebration was fun, and I'm glad she's not veering toward a face turn considering how insanely over she is with the crowds, the temptation to play up to them when they fucking love you that much has got to be palpable, and that's how you get shit like unconvincing babyface Jericho. Nyla throwing burgers everywhere and popping the balloons with her nails was so wonderful that I'm sad I don't see Britt losing the belt in her first defense, since I'd love for Nyla to be the first two-time champ.
AND THEN EDDIE DECLARED HIMSELF TO BE ALLIES WITH PAC AND PENTA DESPITE THEIR PROTESTATIONS EVEN THOUGH HE SPENT MONTHS MANIPULATING PENTA AND TRYING TO TURN HIM AGAINST HIS OWN BROTHER AND OH MY GOD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. "Look, bastard. Look, former best friend." What a fucking icon.
Red Velvet vs. The Bunny: A total plotless filler match for the women this week, buried in the second-to-last death slot (which was after like 11:30pm this week for good measure), cool cool cool!
Miro vs. Uno next week, I'm really glad they look to be setting up Miro to be as much of a fighting champion as Darby was in his last couple of months with the title. Really gets mileage out of the reign and makes it memorable, no matter how long it ends up being, you know?
Dustin Rhodes vs. Nick Comoroto in a Bullrope Match: Nice to see Nick get a bit of a spotlight, since Ogogo has (understandably) taken a lot of the Factory spotlight in terms of up-and-coming talents. Best part was when Fuego jumped on his back from the sidelines to save Dustin, I love it when stuff from Sammy's vlog gets put on TV. HE'S GONNA GET SO MANY FOREHEAD SMOOCHES FOR THAT ONE (UPDATE: he only got one big forehead smooch because his mask smelled like Nick, FAIR ENOUGH). Three displaced playoffs episodes to go~
When Our Shadows Fall
Oh, look at that, Serena lost the title. I wonder if Thunder Rosa has a shot now and is gonna keep gunning for Kamille, or if she's just marking the days until she can sign with AEW full time. Also, Kylie Rae is here now, good for her! She totally ghosted on the last two promotions to sign her due to mental health issues, I really hope she finds what she needs here. Can you tell I'm only watching NWA for the women?
Zombie Walk
Matt Cardona imitating Moxley's little wiggle walk that he does before revealing his identity was so damn good, ha! What a brilliant way to get some nuclear heat with the crowd while introducing himself! The crowd reactions were SO GOOD, the pop at the walk, the bigger pop at the Paradigm Shift, the biggest pop as he unmasks, and then the long moment of silence before the booing kicks in, an absolute masterclass in working an audience.
That cheezy bread was so good. Now to figure out what I'm going to do with my week.